Technology

PSI is exploring ways to better use technology to reach women and girls with information about contraception and provide linkages to care. Increasingly, PSI’s consumers are interested in accessing information through social media and mobile phones, and PSI country programs are innovating to modernize their communication strategies.

PSI Tanzania has successfully piloted different technologies to enhance the client experience, manage sales agents, quality assurance application and track referrals through IPC Agents. PSI Tanzania is at the forefront of using PSI’s “Connecting with Sara” (CwS) system. CwS is a flexible technology platform that has two unique characteristics: it facilitates interactive communication with users, and it is housed in PSIs MIS to allow for data consolidation and visualization. As part of PSI’s MIS, CwS has the capability to track unique users over time and link client feedback to quality monitoring dashboards.

While CwS can be adapted for use with a variety of technologies—smart phones, feature phones, Facebook, Whatsapp, websites—in Tanzania it is primarily used by IPC Agents to register users and issue referrals. PSI Tanzania piloted CwS with funding from USAID and has now scaled up the technology through funding from the Vodafone Foundation and Vodacom Tanzania.

PSI Tanzania has also developed “Mjanja Connect,” an interactive app targeted at reaching girls, with funding from the Vodafone Foundation that includes sexual and menstrual health education, pre-counselling, and links to CwS for referrals.

In 2018, the CwS pilot moved to scale, and Mjanja Connect was launched in July; redeemed referrals from clients under the age of 20 have increased from 6% to 11%. These innovations are expected to increase youth referrals and improve how PSI monitors the client experience going forward.